Portable holding device



Dec. 13, 1960 A. s. PORTNER PORTABLE HOLDING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1959 ill: EIZIII.

INVENTOR.

ALBERT S. PORTNER BY 7 WWW ATTORNEYS- Dec. 13, 1960 A. s. PORTNER 2,964,199

\ Y PORTABLE HOLDING DEVICE Filed March 2, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ALBERT S. PORTNER ATTORNEYS- United States fatentfi PORTABLE HOLDING DEVICE.

Albert S. Partner, PhiladelphiapPd, assignor 'to D'avid Lehrman, trading as The Ironees: Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

Filed Mar. 2, 1959, Ser.1No. 796,552

8 Claims. (Cl; 2114-107) This invention relates to holders for milk bottles. and the like, and it particularly relates to such holderswhich are portable and replenishable.

It has heretofore been the custom for the milkman or other vendor of similar type to set the bottles down separately on the ground. The bottles then remained in such positions till the customer came out of 'the house,

picked them up and carried them into the house. During the intervening time, however, the bottles stood on the .ground subject to the depredations of animals and to the effect of adverse weather conditions such as wind, storms, etc.

Eventually, when the customer came out for the bottles, he had to pick them up and carry them individually. This was diflicult when more than two bottles were involved and especially when doors had to be opened and :closed. Consequently, the customer had to make more than one trip or had to take the risk of dropping the bottles with resultant breakage of the bottles and possible injury to himself or to the floors and rugs in the house. These floors and rugs were also subject to damage from drippage from the bottles of dirty water collecting on the bottoms of the bottles while they stood outside.

In some instances, storage boxes having hinged lids have been supplied to customers so that the vendor can place the bottles therein free from weather conditions. However, such boxes are heavy and clumsy and are adapted to remain constantly outside merely as a delivery box. It is therefore still necessary for the customer to lift up the box lid, remove the bottles and carry them in as before. In addition, these boxes tend to accumulate dirt, dust and rust which might contaminate the contents of the bottles.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to overcome the above and other disadvantages of prior usages by providing a holding device which is adapted to keep bottles and the like safe from adverse weather conditions and which permits easy filling by the vendor and easy carrying by the customer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a holding device of the aforesaid type which prevents damage to the bottles while they are outside the house and which prevents them from falling and breaking when being carried into the house.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a holding device of the aforesaid type which is simple yet sturdy in construction and which is easily used and not readily damaged.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a holding device of the aforesaid type which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and sell.

ther objects and many of the attendant advantages -of-this invention will be readily appreciated as the same the" accompanying drawings wherein:

2,964,199 Patented Dec, 13, 19 69 Fig. 1 is a perspective-view of a holding device embodying the present invention, the device being shown attached to a wrought-iron fence.

Fig. 2 is a side-elevational view of the holding device of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is; atopplan view, partly broken away, of the device of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of the support bracket used in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of a modified form of. support bracket.

Referringnow in greater detail'to the various figures of the drawings wherein similar, reference characters refer to similar parts, there is. shown a holding device or basket, generally designated 10, comprising a base 12 of generally rectangular configuration. This base' 12 includes a series of parallel wires or rods 14 which are bent upwardly at their opposite ends to form vertical portions 16. Spaced parallel tie rods or wires 18 extend transversely along the bottom of the wires 14 and are brazed, welded, soldered or other-wise secured thereto, while rods or wires 20-extend transversely across the vertical portions 16 adjacent the upper ends thereof, and are brazed,

welded, soldered or otherwise secured to the outside of these vertical portions; one of these wires 20 being provided on each side of thedevice.

The cross-wires 20 extend beyond the endmost vertical portions 16 at each side of the basket and these end portions of the wires 20 are secured, as by brazing, welding. soldering or the like, to respective frame members 22.

Each frame member 22 comprises a pair of oppositely disposed, generally U-shaped frames consisting of an upper arm 24, a lower arm 26 and a vertical bridge arm 28 integrally connected at its ends to the arms 24 and 26.

The lower arms 26 are each downwardly offset at their free ends to form legs 30; each of these legs being provided with a guard tip 32 made of rubber, plastic or the like. The outer end of each upper arm 24 is integrally connected to the corresponding upper arm 24 at the other side of the basket by a bridge arm 34 integrally connected at its ends to each arm 24.

Between each pair of opposed arms. 24 there extends a cross-rod or wire 36 which is laterally spaced from the corresponding bridge arm 34 and. is generally parallel thereto. The spacing between the rods 36 and their corresponding bridge arms 34 maybe varied to correspond with the size and shapes of the bottles or other articles to be held in the basket.

Pivotally mounted at the center of each bridge arm 34 is a flexible strip 38 having asnap hook 40 at its free end. These strips 38 are utilized to selectively divide the area between each of the rods 36 and the corresponding bridge arms 34 into two separate compartments. For example, the space between the rod 36 and bridge arm 34 may be wide enough to receive a two quart size milk bottle. If such a bottle is used, it extends beyond the separate compartments formed by the strip 38 when it is in closed position; therefore, the strip is opened by snapping the hook 4i) loose and moving the strip to the open position (as shown at the right side of Fig. 2). This permits room for the two-quart bottle. When a one-quart bottle is inserted, the strip 38 is placed-in the closed position by snapping the hook 40 over the rod 36. This forms four smaller compartments, each of. which is adapted tohold a one-quart bottle. g I

Of course, the dimensions of the basket may be varied to conform to any size or type of bottle desired andit -may also be used to hold any other articles than bottles, such as packages of butterjor, cheese, cans of. juice, cartons of eggs, loaves of bread, etc.- In this-respect, it should. be particularly noted that thevertical bridge arms 28 permit use of the central section of the basket for holding such articles since these bridge arms prevent such articles from falling out of the sides of the basket in the same way that vertical portions 16 prevent articles from slipping out of the bottom at each end of the basket.

rods 36 are bent around to form eyelets 40, the free ends 9 y of the eyelets also being secured to the undersurfaces of their respective arms 24. Extending through each eyelet 40 is a hook 42 formed on the end of a bail or handle 44.

There are two bails 44, one pivotally connected in the above manner to each pair of oppositely disposed eyelets y 40. These bails may be lifted up into the carrying position (as indicated at the right in Fig. 2) or they may be lowered against the legs 30 (as in Fig. 1). When in this lowered position they are out of the way when the basket is either standing on its legs or hung on the bracket (hereinafter described).

For the purpose of supporting the basket 10 off the ground, there is provided a bracket, generally designated 50. This bracket 50 (as best shown in Fig. 4) comprises a sheet metal plate bent to form a rectangular socket 52 integral with a pair of arms 54. The arms 54 each have upwardly-extending portions 56 and downwardly-extending portions 58. Both the portions 56 and 58 end in curved hook ends, as at 60 and 62 respectively. The

socket 52 is provided with a vertical row of holes 64 in the rear wall while at each end of the side walls, fingers 66-=are struck out. holes, as at 68.

If the bracket 50 is to be mounted on a wrought-iron fence, the socket 52 is flexed around one of the bars 70 These fingers are also provided with of the fence and is held thereon by its own inherent fiexibility. This connection is aided by the fingers 66 which tend to bite into the post. A bolt or the like, such as shown at 72, is preferably inserted between the holes 68 and inwardly of the bar 70 to securely clamp the bracket to the bar.

If the bracket is to be mounted on a wall or other flat surface, the outer surface of the rear wall of the socket is placed flush against the wall and bolts, screws,

rivets, or the like are inserted through holes 64 into the walls of socket 82 are slotted adjacent each of the arms 86, as at 92, to receive the respective arms 24 of the basket. Holes 94, similar to holes 64, are provided in the rear wall of the socket 82 while holes 96, similar to holes 68, are provided in the fingers 84.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

l. A portable article holding assembly comprising an open work holding device and a mounting bracket for releasably supporting said holding device in elevated position, said holding device comprising a frame including upper and lower, horizontal frame portions, said frame portions being parallel but spaced from each other, said lower frame portion supporting adepending shelf, said upper frame portion being divided into separate horizontal compartments by cross rods and having movable divider means for selectively dividing each of said separate compartments into smaller compartments, said divider means comprising fingers pivoted at one end to the frame and releasably connected at their opposite ends to respective cross-rods, said mounting bracket having a socket portion adapted to releasably engage a supporting post within said socket and to releasably engage a supporting surface externally of said socket, and engagement means on said bracket, said engagement means being releasably engageable with both said upper and lower frame portions.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said bracket is pro vided with upper and lower hook means constituting said engagement means, said upper hook means being engageable with said upper frame portion and said lower hook means being engageable with said lower frame portion.

3. The assemblyof claim 1 wherein said engagement means comprises a hook means on said bracket which is provided at the lower edge thereof and is engageable with the lower frame portion, and slots at the upper edge of said bracket to receive said upper frame portion.

4. A portable, openwork holding device comprising a supporting fname including an upper, horizontal frame portion and a lower, horizontal frame portion parallel with but spaced from said upper frame portion, a shelf depending from said lower frame portion, said shelf having upstanding vertical walls connecting it to said lower frame portion, at least one cross-rod extending transversely across the space between opposite sides of said upper frame portion, a divider strip pivoted to said upper frame portion and movable into a substantially perpendicular position relative to said cross-rods, said divider strip having means thereon to releasably engage with said cross-rod intermediate the ends of said cross-rod when said divider strip is in said substantially perpendicular position to form separate compartments within the area defined by said upepr frame portion, and collapsible carrying means movably connected to said frame for movement into and out of an operative carrying position.

5. The holding device of claim 4 wherein said upper and lower frame portions are generally rectangular to form two pairs of opposed sides, said cross-rod extending between one pair of sides and the divider strip being pivoted to a side extending between said one pair of sides.

6. The holding device of claim 4 wherein there are two spaced, parallel cross-rods and two divider strips, one divider strip pivotally extending between one side of said upper frame portion and the cross-rod nearest thereto and the other divider strip pivotally extending between the opposite side of said upper frame portion and the crossrod which is nearest thereto.

7. The holding device of claim 4 wherein said lower frame portion is provided with supporting feet depending I below said shelf.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 5,269 Woods et al. Feb. 4, 1873 313,129 Tipney Mar. 3, 1885 446,190 Post Feb. 10, 1891 597,318 Jenks Jan. 11, 1898 632,999 7 Grant Sept. 12, 1899 722,349 Young Mar. 10, 1903 1,173,909 Yoder t Feb. 29, 1916 1 1,618,622 'Woolsey Feb. 22, 1927 2,239,482 Cocks Apr. 22, 1941 2,461,071 Mettenleiter Feb. 8, 1949 

